Sin City (2005)

Directed by: Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller

With: Bruce Willis, Benicio del Toro, Clive Owen and Mickey Rourke

124 Minutes

IMDb: 8.2 (#165 of TOP250)

Review: Yesterday I watched for the fourth time one of my favourite adaptations of a graphic novel series: Frank Miller’s Sin City, a neo-noir crime action thriller movie based in the comics written by Frank Miller and directed by him, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino as guest. The cast is really amazing with top actors/actress like Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke and Elijah Wood and the soundtrack is also pretty damn good since it combines perfectly with the dark atmosphere of the scenes.

The plot is divided in four short-stories connected by the same characters that live in Basin City (aka: Sin City): “The Costumer is Always Right”, “The Big Fat Kill”, “That Yellow Bastard” and “The Hard Goodby”. Basin City, a fictional town in the American west, is the stage of this visually entertaining and stylish film, a city devoured by crime and corruption and controlled by the police, the mob and the Roark family. The first story presented is an epilogue, the part one of “The Costumer is Always Right” short, that follows the story of the Salesman and tries to give a proper introduction to what will happen in the rest movie without revealing any significant detail.

Power don’t come from a badge or a gun. Power comes from lying. Lying big, and gettin’ the whole damn world to play along with you. Once you got everybody agreeing with what they know in their hearts ain’t true, you’ve got ‘em by the balls. (Senator Roark)

The second story, “The Yellow Bastard”, stars Bruce Willis as officer John Hartigan and Jessica Alba as Nancy Callahan. Nancy was an eleven year-old girl when she was saved from the hands of the senator’s son by officer Hartigan and after eight years he is now protecting her, the same little girl he saved once, from the hands of a grotesquely and deformed serial killer.

An old man dies. A young woman lives. A fair trade. I love you, Nancy. (John Hartigan)

The third story, “The Hard Goodbye” is probably the one I enjoyed the least but that was just because the other two were really great. This story follows the events that occurred after a one-night stand between Marv (interpreted by Mickey Rourke) and Goldie (Jamie King). When Marv realizes that Goldie was murdered while he slept, he begins immediately planning his revenge. With the help of the officer Lucille (played by Carla Gugino) Marv will have to fight against a cannibal who eats prostitutes and lives in the Roark family farm, protected by a corrupt priest (a member of the Roark family that helped his brother becoming senator). Against all odds, Marv will fight with all of his strengths to avenge the death of Goldie.

The last story, “The Big Fat Kill” is probably my favourite because it’s really funny and reveals more details about how is Basin City divided. After Jackie Boy (Benicio del Toro) showed up drunk at his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and harassed her, her boyfriend Dwight (Clive Owen) throws him out and follows him to stop him before he does anything worse. After seeing that Jackie and his buddies are heading to Old Town and that they’re harassing a prostitute (Becky), Dwight tries to stop them but before he acts, Gail and her girls calm him down and take care of the situation. What happens next may change forever the destiny of Old Town in a battle which the girls will fight against the cops and the mob in order to control that part of the city.

As I said earlier, my favourite story is “The Big Fat Kill” but I enjoyed a lot the movie and all the stories. The style and the innovative visual effects made “Sin City” a powerful adaptation of a graphic novel series that both critics and the audience enjoyed a lot. I felt like I was watching every single page in the screen. Both the performances and the casting choices were really amazing to watch and in the overall the movie is a must-see not only for those who love comics. From the remarkable quotes to the great soundtrack, “Sin City” reaches a level of quality that only good movies are capable to reach.

Entertaining, funny and full-packed with action sequences that you will remember for a very long time, “Sin City” is a great movie and it deserves to be watched.